The present invention relates to the field of insulating parts for electronic devices, and in particular to an insulating part having an integral cooling element coupled to one or more electrical components. Such parts are commonly injection-molded from plastic and generally have conductors arranged thereon to electroconductively connect various electronic components. A part of this type is disclosed, for example, by European Patent EP-0 465 693 A1. Parts of this type have a variety of applications; for instance, the part may be used as the rear panel for a housing of a programmable controller, such as in the "SIMATIC S5-95 U" manufactured by "SIEMENS AG."
It is well-known in the art of electronics to use an outer surface of a device as a cooling surface for the electronic components of the device. Manufacturing and design constraints often dictate that such a cooling surface be located at a distance from the components to be cooled. Such a remote arrangement, however, makes it difficult to ensure that the electronic components will be effectively cooled. This problem is solved by the insulating part of the present invention.